


Away

by The_Dark_Enchantress_Ruhi



Series: The Black Sisters Series [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Did I mention angst, Drama, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, More angst, andy's pov after she leaves, black sisters, black sisters angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-28 04:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30134004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Dark_Enchantress_Ruhi/pseuds/The_Dark_Enchantress_Ruhi
Summary: Running away from home is the scariest—and possibly also the bravest—thing Andy has ever done, but she has never felt so relieved in her life.
Relationships: Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks, Bellatrix Black Lestrange & Narcissa Black Malfoy & Andromeda Black Tonks
Series: The Black Sisters Series [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1628116





	Away

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season Nine  
> Round: 1 — The End  
> Team: Puddlemere United  
> Position: Captain  
> Prompt: Your character hears or sees something that reminds them of someone they've lost.  
> Word Count: 1459  
> _____
> 
> Though canon does not clearly mention Andy’s age, Andy and Bella are twins here and Narcissa is four years younger.

Running away from home is the scariest—and possibly also the bravest—thing Andy has ever done, but she has never felt so relieved in her life. 

Relieved that she is far away from her family and their sickening beliefs, relieved that she is with Ted instead of being carted off to some other sickening pureblood twice her age, and relieved that she does not have to pretend anymore to hate muggles and muggleborns. Relief. It’s a wonderful feeling, but more often than not it leaves you with a racing, sinking heart and worried mind. 

She can still feel the dread creep over her whenever she closes her eyes, so she tries to distract herself by taking in the sight of the muggle world—though it is in vain. They’re in a muggle taxi that runs entirely without magic, a truly fascinating feat, but that also means that she and Ted cannot talk as freely as she would’ve liked. She stares out of the window at the fast disappearing surroundings, a blur of deep green trees and inky blue night laced with the golden-orange of streetlights at frequent intervals. If she unfocuses her eyes enough it just becomes an expanse of mixed colours with no real shapes, as if a single artistic brush-stroke. She focuses her eyes to normal again, but the picture does not become any clearer. 

It is only when a tear streaks down her face does she realise that her vision is blurred due to the film of tears filling her eyes. 

She dabs at it with her black, lace-trimmed handkerchief—Narcissa’s handiwork, something she had made for Andromeda when she had just begun to learn the craft—but it is as if a floodgate has opened and now she cannot stop. It takes everything she has to not sob pitifully and curl up in a ball. 

She’s not sure why she’s crying. She has finally done that which she had been dreaming of since a rather young age—she has fled the prison that is the Black Family manor, fled the clutches of Druella and Cygnus Black, fled from the curse of being a _ Black _ . And she is happy about it. Undoubtedly. She does not regret leaving the way she did. What she does regret is … her sisters. She left them behind. She sighs, closing her eyes as more tears escape. 

She hadn't had a choice. She had to do what she did. Because though they hated Druella and Cygnus as much as she did, Bellatrix and Narcissa were morphing into them—the same sickening beliefs, the same anti-muggle aspirations. She had hoped, she thinks, that once they were in Hogwarts, away from their parents, they would grow out of it the same way she had. She hadn't expected it to grow. She hadn't expected it to spiral out of control. 

She remembers with startling accuracy how Bella had pulled her aside, exactly nineteen nights ago, not all that different from the other occasions on which she had pulled her aside so. Except those interactions had happened while they had still been at Hogwarts. And none of them had involved Bella’s favourite silver knife being pointed at her throat.

* * *

  
  


It was after dinner, when Cygnus and Druella had retired for the night, and Andy was heading for her own bedroom. She had meant to take a turn in the corridor, and instead found herself pinned to a wall, Bellatrix’s messy hair blocking much of her vision so that the only thing she could really see were her eyes, wide and angry.

“Bella,” she cried quietly, eyes wide, “what are you doing?”

Bella’s eyes flashed, directing the maniac look usually reserved for the outside world, for the first time, at Andy. Andy frowned, aware of the uncomfortable way in which she was pinned against the wall, a charm holding her in her place. Bella brought the knife dangerously close to her throat, close enough to make a tiny incision. 

“I’ve told you this so many times, Andy,” Bella said in a tight voice, frown on her forehead and wand-hand trembling even with the knife still in it. 

Because of the anger, Andy realized as the charm holding her into place tightened its grasp, making breathing harder by the second. Bella brought her face closer to hers.

“I’ve told you so many times to stay away from that mudblood filth!” Bella screamed, lips drawn into a thin line. “So many times … I told you so many times to stay away from his kind, and yet …” Andy could swear she saw the bloodlust in her eyes. She had never been this scared of her twin. 

She doesn’t know where she found the strength to speak, let alone lie, but perhaps it was more instinctive than anything else. Heaven knows Andromeda Black had had to lie to people’s faces before.

“Bella, I— I don't know what you're saying … I’ve  _ never—” _

“LIES!” Bella roared, eyes widening further, making her look more menacing than ever. “All of them … lies.  _ Lies.” _

She stepped away from Andy, clenching her fist, making the charm tighten its grip further. “All these years,” she said, “I thought you were heeding my advice and keeping yourself clean but you, you—” she stopped, breathing heavily.  _ “Blood-traitor,”  _ she whispered quietly, “dirtying yourself and us while you go frolic with that mudblood!” She glared at Andromeda, gasping to breathe. “I should’ve killed you both right when I saw you sneak out to meet him …” She turned away, glaring at the opposite wall. “The only problem is that while you may have thrown us away, you are my sister, and I love you and so does Narcissa and that is the only reason why I’m giving you this choice.”

She unclenched her fist and like a rag doll, Andy slid down the wall, nearly limp, gasping for breath, clutching her throat as if that would protect it from future attacks. 

Bella crouched before her, gently cupping Andy’s face in a false show of affection. 

“It’s us or him, Andy,” she said after a moment of silence. “Us, or death.”

* * *

  
  


Andy swallows, bringing her hand to her throat, finger tracing the since healed cut. That had been nineteen nights ago, and now she is here, in this taxi, with Ted, speeding towards his parents’ home to get married. She had had to choose, like Bella had said. She chose him. But despite what Bella said, Andy had chosen  _ life _ , not death. A moment with Ted is worth a thousand years in that prison, though she knows Bella is beyond understanding this now. Andy has made the right choice, and she knows it, but perhaps her heart does not, crying for the sisters she had sworn to love, cherish and protect all her life. 

Another tear rolls down her face and into the handkerchief. She knows Bella will be livid when she finds out. She knows she would kill her if she got the chance. But poor Narcissa, still at school, won't even know until Bella writes to her. Narcissa understood, to a point, how much Andy loved Ted. But will she understand that Andy gave up on her and Bella for Ted?  _ Abandoned  _ them. She thinks of Narcissa’s innocent, angelic face, the same face which she had always wanted to keep smiling, and stifles a sob. Beside her Teddy reaches out and grasps her hand, thumb brushing her knuckles gently. She looks at him through her tears, looking back at her in concern, then turns once more towards the windows. Perhaps she is more selfish than she gives herself credit for.

* * *

They get a house of their own in a small town away from London, a perfect, sunny house with bright walls and big windows. It is big enough to be a comfortable living space, but not imposing like the walls of the manor. It has been two weeks since they got married in a small chapel ceremony, one since they moved into the house. She is happy, though the thought of her sisters has not left her. 

She takes walks through the nearby garden to arrive at a safe apparition spot, passing hoards of children playing. It has been a month since her conversation with Bella, or perhaps more, something she hasn't quite managed to brush off. Maybe that is the reason why her eyes are drawn to the three little girls playing on the swings, two older ones and a much younger one, no parents in sight. The older ones take turns in pushing the younger one, a scene reminiscent of a life she has now put to rest. Her eyes linger at the scene for a second more, then, as they begin to well up, she turns and marches forward.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I have no idea what this is, mostly because I am half asleep. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Please review. :)


End file.
